New Jersey's gambling market showcased robust growth in June, reporting a notable 7.4% increase. The combined earnings from land-based casinos, igaming, and sports betting reached an impressive $491.0 million, breaking past last June's $457.2 million by a substantial margin, yet slightly trailing behind May's $510.0 million by 3.7%.
Land-Based Casino Performance
The land-based casino sector buoyed the overall market performance, recording a steady increase of 1.0% to $244.1 million in revenue. Slot machines, a staple of casino gaming, generated $184.0 million, reflecting a marginal rise of 0.6%, while table games saw a more significant uptick of 2.5%, bringing in $60.1 million.
Igaming on the Rise
Igaming emerged as a powerful growth driver, surging by 25.2% year-on-year to reach $186.8 million. This sector, although still trailing the land-based casinos by $57.3 million, has exhibited remarkable dynamism. Contributions from "other authorized games" reached $184.4 million, up 25.6%, highlighting a broadening appeal in the digital gaming landscape. However, peer-to-peer poker faced a slight decline, dropping 2.9% to $2.5 million.
Leading the charge in the igaming realm, Golden Nugget generated $51.5 million, up 23.3% from the previous year. Resorts Digital followed with a substantial 36.4% increase, bringing in $48.6 million. Meanwhile, the Borgata made a significant mark with an 8.8% rise to $42.9 million.
Sports Betting Struggles
While most sectors enjoyed growth, sports betting faced headwinds, with revenue declining by 9.5% year-on-year to $60.1 million. This figure also represented a 23.7% drop from May's $78.8 million. Despite this, New Jersey residents displayed an increased appetite for betting, placing wagers worth $748.4 million, up 26.6% from the previous year’s $591.1 million.
Online sports betting remains the dominant channel, contributing $719.0 million in bets, whereas retail sportsbooks accounted for $29.5 million. When breaking down the revenue, FanDuel led the pack with $29.1 million. DraftKings followed with $14.4 million, while BetMGM and Bet365 reported $3.7 million and $3.4 million respectively. Fanatics Sportsbook made a notable entry with $1.8 million.
Tax Contributions
The gambling industry's contributions to New Jersey's coffers were also significant, paying $47.8 million in taxes in June. Of this, land-based casinos contributed $16.2 million from gross revenue tax, igaming added $28.0 million from internet gross revenue tax, and internet sports wagering accounted for $3.6 million. Retail sports wagering from casinos contributed a modest $7,782, while racetracks paid $71,191 in sports wagering taxes.
Year-to-Date Analysis
Looking at the first half of the year, the total market revenue for New Jersey's gambling industry reached $3.06 billion, reflecting a 12.2% rise from last year’s $2.73 billion. The land-based casinos were pivotal, contributing $1.36 billion with slot machines bringing in $998.3 million and table games adding $357.8 million. Igaming saw a substantial increase, with revenues rising 21.4% to $1.1 billion. The "other authorized games" contributed significantly at $1.12 billion, marking a 21.8% rise, although peer-to-peer poker fell by 4.2% to $14.1 million.
In the sports betting arena, revenue for the first half of the year stood at $573.1 million, a notable 30.0% increase year-on-year. The year-to-date handle for sports betting surpassed $6.76 billion, with online sports betting proving to be dominant, contributing $6.53 billion. Retail locations, while much smaller in comparison, still added $231.0 million.
The gambling market in New Jersey continues to demonstrate resilience, with robust growth in the igaming and land-based casino sectors. Although challenges persist in the sports betting domain, the overall upward trajectory indicates a vibrant and thriving industry.